The Final Fifteen

"Stir up the gift of God which is in you."

"You must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

"Study to show yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

"Flee youthful lusts; and pursue righteousness." 

"Preach the word!" 

"Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

All of the scripture verses quoted above can be found in 2 Timothy, which was Paul's final epistle that God inspired him to write before his Roman execution. It is also, of course, the last of what we call the Pastoral Epistles that Paul wrote, as he was seeking to encourage and admonish both Timothy and Titus to remain faithful to their calling into the ministry.

Many believers profess that an annual self-inspection, or spiritual inventory, is a valuable tool for growing in grace. I suppose that such an activity can have some merit, as long as it is not used to evaluate our lives in comparison to others, which can lead us into a sense of either spiritual pride or personal despair. It can also be dangerous to invest too much time in looking backward into the past, as Paul himself said, "One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

As someone who spends an incredible amount of time on the highway, I realize that it is a good habit to constantly glance into my rear-view mirrors to remain aware of what is happening around me. Gazing into my mirrors, instead of glancing, however, would be extremely foolish unless I was backing up at that particular moment. I do not want my eyes locked in a stare at any of my mirrors while I'm traveling forward at highway speeds. That type of activity could be both dangerous and deadly for me and for you!

Hitting a so-called personal milestone last year caused me to become more acutely aware of the value of each day. At the same time, as I surveyed the spiritual landscape surrounding me, I began to realize that I might be running out of time to experience a radical move of God in our land. Beloved friend, I sincerely believe that we are in the twilight hours of the church accomplishing her assignment before the soon coming rapture, and I understand that I am much closer to the finish line of my life's journey as well. In light of this truth, please read along with me as I glance back a bit, and then gaze ahead.

THE FIRST FIFTEEN: When God saved me in 1983, and called me into the gospel ministry in 1988, I had no idea what I would experience. Tammy and I followed His leadership as best as we knew how. We bumbled along like spiritual toddlers, I'm sure, but He was always faithful. As I developed and grew through seminary training and pastoral experience, God opened doors for preaching and ministry that could only be explained by His divine activity. There was a time that I kept meticulous records of where I was traveling and the messages that I preached while in those places. As I compiled a growing list of countries, states, cities, towns, and churches that I visited, those records eventually became a source of unholy and unhealthy pride. I inwardly glowed over the miles that I traveled on the road and in the air to fulfill my ministry assignments and thought it to be quite impressive that I was leading revival, prayer, and church growth conferences, especially in light of the fact that I had never completed my seminary degree. The Lord opened my eyes to this utter foolishness and wickedness in 2005, after I had sought to impress a congregation in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area that I was standing before them that night and preaching Bible message number 5,000 to an audience of listening ears. Not long after I returned home from that Oklahoma meeting and still under conviction about my arrogance, I burned all of my meticulous records, the revival and conference marketing posters and fliers that I had retained, the many newspaper clippings concerning the events that I had been involved in and collected from various cities, as well as all of my saved copies of monthly and quarterly ministry newsletters that I had written and mailed to thousands of recipients.

THE MIDDLE FIFTEEN: As we moved further into the beginning years of this new millennium, opportunities began to decrease for many of us involved in itinerant ministry. Churches in America were rapidly changing, as they were either suspending or simply eliminating services that required attendance beyond the Sunday morning commitment. Revival meetings with hard preaching to call the church to brokenness and humility were looked upon as useless relics of the past. "Methods must always be changing" was the newest cliche overheard in all of the pastors conferences, and there seemed to be no room for dinosaurs like myself in the ministry plans of modern, progressive churches.  Invitations to continue overseas ministry was ongoing, but without viable work at home, these opportunities had to be declined. It was during this time that I was serving as a trustee of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and learning a great deal about church planting becoming the greatest spiritual weapon to impact lostness in a community. It was through the influence of the IMB that Tammy and I believed God would have us start a non-traditional church to reach out to the Mississippi State University campus. God was gracious to allow us to begin DayStar Church and develop relationships with numerous students, as well as other residents in Starkville. This season of life eventually demanded that I become what is known as a bivocational minister. I was blessed to serve as a chaplain for a local hospice company, followed by a two-year stint working in the transit system at MSU, giving me even greater access to meet and befriend students. I soon began driving charter buses to provide for my family financially, and it was during these years that circumstances changed drastically for us, and my eyes were taken off of Jesus. I tried to maintain my ministry by going through all of the motions. I can tell you from personal experience, that won't work. I realized that something had to change, and with another church launching in Starkville with our same vision and thriving, it was time to face the harsh reality that I was a failure in my current assignment and walk away from our church planting experience.

THE FINAL FIFTEEN: Well, here I am several years removed from those past events, yet still desiring to be used of God for His kingdom purposes. Pastors have reached out to me occasionally to preach for them, which is always a blessing, and I was able to serve our home church for a few months last year during a season of great need while we were without a pastor. Some ministers have even wanted to submit my name to churches looking for a pastor in their areas of service, but we have never believed God would have us move at this stage of life due to ongoing family responsibilities here at home. I look upon my future as "The Final Fifteen" while realizing that I personally may not have fifteen more years of life as I know it. But think about it, none of us may have fifteen more years, as the rapture of the church could take place tonight, or death for any one of us may occur before sunrise! Yet however, and wherever, God delights in using us, Tammy and I are praying that He will be glorified as we run our last laps in the race of faith. And as we pray and wait for our next ministry opportunity, I ponder upon those verses listed above, as well as this beautiful passage from Psalm 71:17-18:

"O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come!"

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